The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-23
THE DUTCH GAP CANAL.
General Butler Tells What He Knows About
That Famous Military Expedient.

Boston Globe.
At the annual reunion of the old Sixth Massa-
chussetts Regiment on Tuesday last General But
Ter was asked to give his comrades a history of
the Dutch Gap canal. The General complied,
and his explanation, never before made, was
listened to with intense interest by all.
He said: THE army Of the James lay the
18th of September 1864 along the outer lines of
RICHMOND, occupying a portion of the line of the
main army under Grant. We could not advance
because the enemy had control of James river,
and if the army passed in the rear of the forts
the confederate iron-clads would have every ad-
vantage of attacking them in the rear. French
creek makes a detour of seven miles and returns
again to point where it is only 435 feet from
water to water. and this is bluff sixty feet high
had a consultation with General Grant and his
chief engineer. said if we could get our iron
clads to drive the enemy's fleet up the
the river was but seven feet deep
around this seven mile detoar, and the iron.
clads drew fifteen or sixteen feet. it was not
possible to get them around. l then suggested
the cut, which was known as Dutch Gap; if it
were made we could get twenty-one feet of water
above and below the bend. Genera; Grant
agreed and gave me the services of his engineer.
So. while it might be one of Buffers failures il
was not one of his mlsjudgments, as it was or
dered by Grant. The work was at once begun.
and on Christmas day of 1864 it was completed,
except about twenty-five feet, which formed a
bulkhead between the water on either side.
threw at least 10000 shells at US. The canal
was to be ninety feet across the bottom and
an average depth of twenty-five feet During
the digging had a hole made in the bank and
TWO men stationed on the bluffs above.
and when mortar she'll would rise
from the enemy's feet they would shout She'll!
and all would run for the holes and remain
until The she'll was exploded. There was one
mule killed. believe. and an army wagon de-
stroyed and that was about all the damage
done had IN enthusiastic n m
work in the person of Admiral Melancthon
Smith, who commanded the Union ironclads
but he was removed to another sphere of use
fuluess just prior to the opening of the canal
Having properly mined the bulkhead Dec
% blew it up, and in twenty-four hours there
was three feet of water running through the
gap In twentyfour hours more, by dredging.
l could have run an ironclad through At that
hour l stopped work, and the country and press
rang with the report of Buffers failure at
Dutch Gap canal / couldn't tell then, but l
can tell now. -Afrer l opened the hole the man
who succeeded Admiral Smith wrote me let
ter in which he said: For Gods sake, don't
let the rebel ironclads down upon u.s." | have
got that letter / am not in the habit of de-
stroying documents. But what could | do? I
couldn't say then that our fleet was afraid of
the enemy. What would have been said of me
if l had done 500
But let me say that on JAN g. 1865, the enc
my's ironclads came out of French creek when
the water was high. and drove our ironcads SO
fast that they didn't wait even to open the draw
in the pontoon bridges, but crashed through
them, and they in my Judgment, wouldn't have
stopped until they reached Fortress Monroe bu,
! for the fact that one of the enemy's vessels got
/ ashore and the rest of the fleet delayed sc
! long in assisting her that the water began &c
! fall, and they returned unframed. AS for that
| naval officer, whose name l won't give you, but
you can read it in the history of the country, be
was court-martialed. found guilty of cowardice
and ordered to be dismissed from the service
| The order would have been carried out but il
was never approved by the Secretary of the
| Navy. Now, let me say that Dutch Gap is tn.
only way to get to Richmond by the James river
| French creek has grown up with grass. 1t il
the only nook that has ever been of any earthly
use TO humanity. and to-day is benefit to navi
I cation of the James.